Initial jobless claims
Initial jobless claims are 194,000 as of Oct 24, 2026, down 4,000 from a month earlier.
Over the past year it has fallen by 37,000. The latest reading is higher than 1% of all readings since January 1967. It was last this low in July 2026.
- Latest
- 194,000
- 1 month ago
- 198,000
- 1 year ago
- 231,000
- Change over 1 year
- −37,000
- History percentile
- 2th
- History since
- January 1967
What it is
The number of people filing a first claim for unemployment insurance each week, seasonally adjusted.
Why it matters for investors
It is the most timely hard data on the US labour market, released every Thursday. Sustained increases have tended to appear before rising unemployment.
How to read it
Weekly numbers are noisy around holidays and storms, so the four-week average is a better guide to the trend. Rises from a low base matter more than the absolute level.
Method and sources
Source: US Department of Labor, retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (series ICSA). Figures are published with a lag and can be revised.
This product uses the FRED® API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
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